On the topic of Apple, it seems that (now that more and more dialup-users are
getting their flat-panel iMacs) the Apple support bulletin boards have in
excess of 100 comments about the flaky modems, with no Apple acknowledgement
of a problem. All this courtesy the MacInTouch
reports on the machine, which include the following anecdote:

Finally, I happened to find an alternate number for my ISP and this did the
trick. I was able to get connected and stay connected.